Garden Tomato Salsa vs Vertigo

This is my second time making salsa. The reason I choose this recipe is because I have all the ingredients in my fridge, except cilantro and all I need to do is chop or blend. It’s pretty easy, simple BUT tasty!! KC is not a salsa fans (because he doesn’t like cilantro) but surprisingly, he said this is a good one.

Ingredient:

• 6 fresh tomatoes
• 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 5 slices pickled jalapeno peppers, or to taste
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
• 1/2 lemon, juiced (or lime)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Instruction:

1. Coarsely chop 3 tomatoes and quarter 3 tomatoes.

2. Place onion, bell pepper, cilantro, garlic and jalapeno peppers into a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped.

3. Add the quartered tomatoes, and pulse just a few times until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped. Transfer to a bowl with a tight-fitting lid.

4. Add in the coarsely chopped tomatoes and mix well.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime juice, and salt.

6. Pour dressing over tomatoes, and stir well. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

I made this for the young married couple meeting but we ended up in ER  because KC was sick. At first, we had no idea what had happened to him. He was happily drinking Pepsi and the next moment, he felt very dizzy, as if the whole room was spinning. He could not move his head, not even open his eyes!! Once he moved his head, he would start throwing up. I was very worried because we are in a foreign place and I have no one to turn to. I prayed for him and for myself. We hoped that he would get better after a nap, but no! So, I decided to bring him to ER at around 6pm with a friend’s help because by then he had threw up for at least 5 times and he could be dehydrated.

We spent almost 5 hours in ER but praise the Lord that KC did not have to spend a night in the hospital. He was on drip and feeling better but he started to vomit again when we were leaving the ER. I could see that water was all that he threw up then. He did not eat anything and that was the 10^th time…According to doctor, viral infection was the reason to it and the dizziness will last for few days, even up to a week. It’s very common here but this is our first encounter with this fancy friend- VERTIGO!

He is on medication and resting at home. He still feels dizzy when he moves his head but praise the Lord that he has stopped vomiting. We have a walker at home which helps him to move around a bit. Get well soon, dear… I need you to finish the salsa!!

He has been having minced meat porridge for the whole day, but he is happy to have chai-boh nui (prickled raddish with eggs).

Sweet and Sour Prawn

This is my first blog posting and let me first introduce myself before talking about, well, the title of this post.

I am from the land of the Hornbill, Sarawak, Malaysia and currently living at Hershey, Pennsylvania. Since I stay at home most of the time and my husband is away for work, I try to cook as much as I can for him. Well, they said, the way into a man’s heart is through his stomach. However, unlike what most will think that I have a lot of time being a stay-at-home-wife (SAHW), in contrary, I don’t. Times passes by in a whoosh...

Anyway, I thought I will like to share with all of you some of my cooking recipes which most is through trail and error.

I am sharing with you the recipe for sweet and sour prawn. It’s easy to make and quick too.

Ingredients

• Prawns
• Green/ Red chili pepper (Capsicum)
• Pineapple (fresh/ can)
• Garlic
• Tomato (optional)
• Sweet onion (optional)

Gravy:

• Chili sauce
• Tomato sauce
• Plum sauce
• Corn starch
• Sugar
• Thai chili sauce (optional)

Steps

1. Mix the gravy to your liking, either to be more sour, sweet or spicy. The tomato, chili and plum sauce are mix in 2:1:1 ratio.

2. Stir fried the garlic until fragrant.

3. Then, add the prawn, followed by chili pepper, pineapple, tomato and onion.

4. Finally, add the gravy which has been pre-mixed and cook until thicken to your liking.

You may add sugar or chili sauce to your liking. I will like it to be spicier to give it an extra kick and not too sweet. As you can see, I prepared it with more gravy because KC would love to mix it to the rice. It’s hard to get fresh seafood here at Hershey and we normally buy cook frozen prawn from Giant. However, it definitely taste better with fresh prawn.

New author

I have just added my wife as an author to this blog too. So, hopefully you will get more postings and updates from us. I am almost sure, we shall add a new category of posting to the blog too, which will be classified as ’recipe’.

Mac advertisment

Currently, I am reading a book called ‘Inside Steve’s Brain’. It’s about how Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, work and well, how he operate!

In the book also it talks about the various advertisements that Apple launched over the years. One of the campaigned struck me and I love how they have the tongue in the cheek adverts.

They had stopped this campaign early this year. But their advertisement is really cool. Here is another one.

On the other hand, here are some old advertisements which runs on our TV is the 70s and 80s.

1. Nespray MIlkpowder – susu segera yang sebenar

2. State Express 555- cigarette advertisement which I you won’t find it anymore.

3. Cadbury Chocolate – look at the wrapper.

4. Guinness Stout – baik untuk anda?

5. Kotek pink – who still throw around ball and having fund with it.

6. Carrier air conditioner – Globalization.

You should try to watch this too.

I don’t recognize some of the brand advertised here but Guinness or bulldog (Or Kau in Hokkien) as it was called, is good for pregnant mother? Mum’s now are not even allow to drink and to imagine bulldog is good for pregnant mum?

The Milo advertisement is good too, I like it.

What do you think?

3 months @ Hershey

I have been missing from this blog for a month now. Well, life gets more hectic when we get more settled down everyday.

Today officially marked that we have been here for 3 months. It’s also fall/ autumn season now. Weather is definitely colder as compared to the time when we arrived here 3 months ago in the middle of summer. Then it was around 80F and now, its around 55F.

 

Nevertheless, everyday, we are enjoying the cold weather, for the time being. Maybe, comes January or February, I will be crying out for summer to come faster.

What we have learned so far? Well, one thing definitely, put on more layers of clothes.

Secondly, trees are now turning yellowish and red and soon, brown and then all will FALL. While it’s a sight to behold, having about 6 HUMONGOUS trees around the house compound is not fun!

Squirrels. Cute! Now, a pest! Definitely. They are digging holes around the garden and turning grass into patches while at the same time, covering the whole place with nuts and corns! I still love the rabbits and occasionally the birds.

Food. Oh yes, food. While Facebook is good to catch up with friends and see what people are doing back in food haven- Malaysia, it’s not nice to see pictures of food. Emm…let me correct myself, it’s TORTURING! Yes, we miss Malaysian food. The smell, the rowdiness of restaurant and mamak. The varieties of food of all cultures. And yes, the hawker centers too!

People. We miss you all the most. There, I have said it! We miss our families and friends. We make new friends here but the fond memories we have with families and friends back home simply are treasured.

Affordability. Well, maybe the greenback value is more than the RM, but then, you earn and you spend here. In fact, it’s more expensive! Utilities bill are expensive. You pay for your sewer, gas, electric, trash and water. Apart from these, there are internet and phone bill too. So, how much? Let’s put it this way; it costs as much as my groceries bill for a month. Bare in mind, we buy a lot of groceries because we cook everyday for every meal!

AirAsia. Well, that’s affordability too! Travelling around here is so expensive. A three hours train ride from here to NYC cost USD45 one way. I guess, AA can do it for half the price! Hotel is expensive too!

Anyway, I love it here too. I love the simple fact that I can walk for 30 minutes to work and I don’t sweat, or at least not as much as in Malaysia. I love it that when I forget to tie my chips, it does not turn soft the next hour. I love the evening walk everyday after dinner. I love the dry weather here.

 

 

There are lots more. Shall blog about it in the next post!

Selamat Hari Malaysia

To all Malaysian and everyone who lives in Malaysia.

Selamat Hari Malaysia

Dismantle and Rebuild a Jeep under 4 Minutes

5 reasons why you should do Science

5. You can play with fire and not worry about being scolded

4. You can play with dangerous chemicals, mixed it together and makes some nice sound and ‘blast’!

3. You can play with glass and breaks it. No, you don’t have to pay for the glass that you break or smashed!

2. You can write grants and get hundred of thousands dollars, but as the saying goes, great power comes with great responsibilities. So, great monies comes with great difficulties too…

1. Occasionally, you do and create something wrong and dumb and you become rich because of it. That’s how Viagra was invented!

One month in Hershey

1.  Got a Pennsylvania ID but then, it has expired. Still waiting for new permanent ID to arrive.

2. Met an accident but unhurt. The car belong to our friend is a write-off. Not because the damage is bad but the cost of repairing it is higher than the value of the car itself.

3. Bought a car and enjoying it.

4. Found a church, the first church we attended, and has since decided to be there. Trying to look for avenue to serve now.

5. Drove around Hershey and to the next town or city nearby. Nothing to shout about but then, driving on the different side of the road as I am used to is a major achievement, especially the bigger truck is always on your rear view mirror!

6. Went apple picking, but then, now looking for ways to finish the apples.

7. Trimmed the trees, raked the leaves and threw away 16 bags of yard waste. I have 3 more now on my lawn.

8. No more lizards and cockroaches, but spiders and ants!

9. Back home, there are stray dogs and cats. But here, it’s rabbits and squirrels and …fireflies.

10. Finally, smelled the chocolate-filled air in town. But it’s more like cookies rather than chocolate. Now I can truly tell people, I live in Hershey!

Is it in your shopping list?

I saw this ad in the newspaper last week. Man, this is a good ad with interesting pictures too. 

 

I turned in and saw this wonderful camouflage suits which make you feel like you are living a good summer time. But I am sure, you will stand out when you walk down the New York Times Square!

There are also the boots which help you to have a better footing and protect your feet when you go for a hike and walk in the jungle or the woods.

And then, there are nice tents for you to use too. If you like the higher view, well, there are chairs which you can hang up on the tree too..:)

And if you like what you see, you can but a sling shot and better still a bow for $329 only. This will guarantee at least a meal for you while you are in the wild. A deer maybe…

And you can find the arrow head with fancy design too. It’s all metal and with different designs to make sure your catch don’t run away.

Don’t like it? Too heavy or too much of a hassle? You need something which you can get it quick and clean? Don’t worry. There are more…

 

Shortgun anyone? And it’s cheaper than a desktop. You can get one at $299.99. Want a fancier one? Well, you can get better shortgun. After all, it’s mostly below $1k.

No? Ok. I get it. More impact. More style!

Pump gun? How do you like that? From a rifle that costs $99.99, which is cheaper than my handphone, and to the more expensive model of $1399.99. You like some semi auto, you got it.

Man…Do you use all this while you go hunting?

And the best of all, the target loads, or bullets…It’s only $6.49 for a box of 25 and it’s on sale. 20% sale! Too expensive. Well, you can buy in bulks too.

And it’s only $16.99 for 525 rounds!

Man…now, remember, all these come in the Sunday newspaper advertisement, there is a toll-free number to call and the website to access to.

And I have to be credit checked and pay a $500 deposit just to get a handphone here?!